Chapter 32: Chapter 32

ANNA

~Beep, beep, beep.~

The familiar tones of a vital signs monitor are the only sound I hear. I feel a flush of relief wash over me, and I jerk my eyes open.

The nightmare has ended. I remember everything now: the war, the deaths, my rejection, every detail of the seven months I’ve lost, the so-called kidnapping.

~I need to find Roland. I need to tell him I’m sorry.~

I look around the room. I’m in a hospital bed. I try to push myself up, but my head is still pounding.

“Take it steady. Nice and easy,” I mutter to myself.

“Dr. Pattinson, you’re up. How are you feeling?” A nurse comes strolling into my room.

“Just a massive headache. How did I get here?”

She smiles at me. “A strapping young man brought you in. He didn’t want to leave your side. We needed to force him out of here. You are lucky to have someone like him in your life.”

She flashes me a sweet smile while checking my vitals.

“Everything seems fine. Looks like you’ll be out of here in no time. Just need the doctor to confirm.” She winks at me.

“Thank you,” I say as she turns around and heads out of my room.

Roland comes bursting through the door, looking worried.

“Annabeth!” He rushes to my side. “How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

I smile at him. “I’m fine, you can relax. I have a few questions for you.”

He smirks and gently places his hand on mine. “Oh, you do?”

I nod. “Yup. Just so you know, I remember everything about your realm.”

He shifts on the bed.

“I just want you to know how sorry I am for rejecting you.”

He gives me a sweet smile. “It’s okay, Annabeth.” He brushes his lips against my knuckles.

A faint smile creeps up my face. “I have one question to ask you.” My head is still spinning, but I have to know.

“And what might that be?”

I look out the window deep in thought.

“What happened after I left? Is the war over?”

He nods soberly. “It’s over. After Damitry took you away, the demons tried to invade, but without their leader, they were lost. So after a few brutalities, they fled.”

A sigh of relief leaves my lips.

“That’s good. Can I ask you one more?”

He nods.

“How is it possible for you to be here and with me? And why do I still feel connected to you?”

He smiles brightly. “That’s a long story. I will tell you after we get you home.”

He plants a soft kiss on my forehead. “Now rest up, flower. I will be back to pick you up. Just have some business to attend to.”

He stands and strolls out of my room.

~I can’t help but wonder if this business has something to do with Damitry. I hope so. I never want to see ~him~ again.~

Dr. Gordon comes strolling into my room.

“Hello there. I see you’re up.” He takes my chart from my bed and checks it. “Well, how are you feeling?”

“I feel good. The headache has disappeared, and I’m not dizzy anymore.”

He nods and makes a note. “That’s good news. You gave us all a fright. Well, everything seems to be in order. You can go home now. You need to take it easy for a few days, okay?” He gives me his “stern father” look.

“Yes, Doctor G. I will.”

“Good. Go and enjoy Rachelle’s wedding. It’s in two days, correct?”

“Yes—and thank you, doc.”

He flashes me one more smile and strolls out of my room.

I grab my phone. Ray has texted me like a thousand messages and I have hundreds of missed calls.

~Crap, of course she’s freaking out. I was supposed to be there first thing this morning.~

I start to reply to all her texts.

“Hey, honey, we phoned your friend. He will be here soon to pick you up,” a nurse says, peeking into my room.

“Thank you.” I had been about to call Xander.

~Roland said he’d come get me. He must have given them his number and charmed them into calling him when I’m released. Yeah, that sounds like him.~

“Ready to go?” Roland says when he arrives.

I nod my head and feel a blush creep up my face.

~Man, he looks sexy.~

“I’m ready.”

He grabs my bag. “You look much healthier. Your cheeks are all red.” He smirks.

~Yeah, yeah, like you don’t know what you’re doing to me.~

I shake my head and smile. “Let’s just go, and thanks for picking me up.”

He takes my hand and we walk out of the hospital together.

The ride home is quiet. I’m still busy putting out fires with Bridezilla. She’s not just mad that I’m not there, she’s pissed because I didn’t tell her I’m in the hospital. One of the nurses must have told her.

We make it to my apartment. Roland jumps out and opens my door, then grabs my bag before we go inside.

“You want something to drink?” I ask as I put the kettle on.

“I’m good, thanks.” He sits at the kitchen table.

“Roland, can you please explain to me how you are here in this realm? And what happened after I left? You seem…different.” I can hear the uncertainty in my voice. I’m afraid of what he might say.

“Well, please try to keep an open mind. It’s some weird shit, but all very true.”

I frown and grab my cup as I go to the couch. He follows and sits next to me.

“I knew Amethyst had extraordinary powers, but never knew how extreme. Let me just start at the beginning.

“When Mitya took you away, she followed you, and she saw what he did to you. She wanted to help, but she was too weak still.

“Damitry saw the necklace around your neck and ripped it off, throwing it to the ground. He didn’t realize what it was.

“After the gremlins opened the portal for you, she waited till the coast was clear and rushed to get it. Pretty clever of her. Because of that, we had something to bargain with. She brought it safely back to me.

“At first, I didn’t understand why it was so important and how on earth it would help us.

“She explained that even the smallest piece of the dragon’s heart has extreme powers, and that one of the Moon Goddess’s sisters would definitely want it.

“I asked her, ‘Which one will help us? None of the goddesses wants anything to do with us, except for the Moon Goddess, of course.’

“She told me that Fate would love to help out if we told her our story and offered her the heart. So we made a long journey to her palace.

“We had an encounter with the centaurs; they are her protectors, and vicious creatures. After a heated argument with the herd leader, they showed us the way to Fate’s palace.

“Amethyst did all the talking: she bargained with Fate, begging her to restore our love.

“But for Fate, the tiny piece of the heart was too small to pay for something so big. So I stepped forward and offered my Lycan, too. If she took him, then I could have my love for you back.

“Fate smiled. That was what she’d wanted from the start. I have to say it hurt like hell to be parted from Unoxi, but our bond-breaking was the worst feeling of all.

“Somehow, Amethyst knew that Fate would pull that move, asking for my Lycan. After I parted with him, Fate laughed. She had tricked us; she never intended to restore our bond.

“Amethyst smiled at me and broke the necklace, smashing it into pieces. Fate’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Amethyst had a red glowing aura around her. She said, ‘I told you to take the deal of the heart. You didn’t listen and instead you took something that didn’t belong to you. Now you want to betray us.’

“I was scared shitless of her power. It was off the charts. She glided to Fate, and they started fighting.

“Before any harm was done, the Moon Goddess appeared and put a stop to the fight. Amethyst wanted to explain, but the Moon just held up her hand, stopping her from talking.

“She asked her sister why would she mess with her toy—I figured it was me she was talking about. Fate gave me a nasty look and threw my Lycan soul back to me. He was pissed when he returned, and he still is.

“Amethyst and the Moon Goddess started to talk. She already knew everything, of course.

“She told me the only way I would be able to get you back would be to kiss you, but I couldn’t tell you anything, and you had to want the kiss. She wanted payment for that info.”

He looks sad, his eyes hard.

“She told me I must bring Damitry to her, dead or alive. She even gave me a time limit: she placed a curse on Amethyst. She is in a coma, in your realm.

“If I don’t deliver Damitry to the Moon Goddess, Amethyst will die. I have two days left.”

He runs his hand through his hair.

“I know Damitry will not come willingly. He is my brother, and even after everything he has done I still care about him, but Amethyst helped me to get you back.

“After everything we’ve been through together, she never lost faith. She just kept telling me, we would get you back.

“Now I have a choice to make. I know if I take Damitry to the Moon Goddess alive, she will just snap his neck. But if I don’t take him at all, she will kill Amethyst.”

I shake my head. “There must be another way?”

He looks at me, hopeless.

“Nope.”

We sit there in silence.

“I have no idea what to do. Damitry doesn’t care about anything but himself.”

Once again, silence settles between us. Roland is deep in thought, struggling with the choice he needs to make.

At last he shakes his head and stands.

“Please, Anna, forgive me for what I’m about to do.”

I frown, not sure what he means by that.

“Where are you going?”

He smiles and it is dangerous.

“I’m taking Damitry to her. I will not lose you again.”

He walks out the door.

I want to follow him, but something inside me tells me to stay. I stare at the front door and feel an ice-cold shiver running down my spine.

My phone buzzes. It’s Ray.

~Shit, I totally forgot.~

I rush upstairs, quickly throw clothes and toiletries into a bag, grab my car key, lock up, and speed off to her parents’ house.

I have so much stuff happening at once, but my mind keeps on wandering back to Roland.

***

Ray is waiting for me on their front porch.

“Anna, what the hell? I leave you alone for a few days, then I get a call telling me you are in the hospital, for frack’s sake. Are you okay? What happened?” She holds me at arm’s length and scans me.

“I’m fine now.”

She narrows her eyes. “I’m glad to hear that. Now, you’re late.” She starts barking orders at me. I don’t mind the distraction.

We finish everything for the wedding. Ray had pleaded with me not to do anything big for her bachelorette party, so I decide to take her out for a drink, just the two of us. We go to a nice karaoke bar close by.

“Anna, I have something to tell you, but please don’t freak out.”

I frown. “Please don’t tell me you don’t want to get married. I swear I will drag you down the aisle myself.”

She starts to giggle. “No, I want to marry Jordan. I love him. Anna, what I’m about to tell you needs to stay between us at least till after the wedding.”

I nod and we make a pinky swear.

“I’m pregnant.”

I jump out of my seat with excitement, “Ray, that’s great news! Did you tell Jordan yet?”

She shakes her head. “No, I just found out three days ago. I’m going to tell him after the wedding. You’re the only one that knows.”

I pull her in for a hug. I’m filled with joy.

~At least Ray will be happy, of that I’m sure.~

We sing a few songs. We had so much fun, people cheering for us as we finish our song. That whole night I have no alcohol—if Ray can’t drink, I won’t either.

We make it back home just past midnight.

“Anna, thanks for this. I needed to unwind a bit.”

I flash her my sweet smile. “It’s my pleasure. Now go to bed, bride-to-be. Your big day is tomorrow, and you need your beauty sleep.”

She smiles at me and strolls to her room. I go outside and sit on the steps, gazing at the stars, wondering what Roland is doing, just hoping he is safe.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. The wedding will start at eleven o’clock. It’s going to be perfect.